ComicMix Six: Embarrassing Deaths
The world of comic book super-heroes and costumed villains is a dangerous one. And sometimes, you don’t make it out alive.
We all remember the tragic loss of Bucky Barnes when he was blown up while trying to disarm a bomb (although he turned up alive again as a cyborg a few years ago). We can still recall the tragic loss of Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow (who was literally resurrected not too long ago). We’ve reminisced about the sacrifice of Barry Allen, who became one with the universe even as he saved it (and who returned from the dead a couple of months ago). And it was literally front page news when Captain America was assassinated (and he’s actually still dead).
But not all deaths in comics are noble moments you want to remember. Some are just down right … silly. So here are six of the most embarrassing deaths. NOTE: this is focused on super-villains and super-heroes, not just any characters in comics in general. Otherwise we would just be talking about Preacher all day.
THE PORCUPINE I
Alexander Gentry was going to make the perfect combat armor for America’s soldiers: a suit that made you look like a big fat porcupine, protecting you with massive quills that could also fire like bullets or emit gas, chemicals and flame. But suddenly worrying that the military wouldn’t pay him for such an invention (perhaps because it made you look like a massive tool), Gentry decided to use the suit himself as a super-villain.
After even modifying his suit didn’t stop him from getting his ass kicked, Gentry figured he was a loser (GASP!) and wanted to change his stripes. He helped Captain America set up a sting operation to capture the Serpent Squad. But things went South real quick and battles ensued. At one point, the Porcupine (whose suit was damaged inexplicably easily) was running to catch one of the Squad members and tripped. But that wasn’t bad enough. He tripped and fell onto one of his own discarded quills, receiving a fatal stab wound. So much for protective armor, huh?
FOOLKILLER I
Ross G. Everbest was a shell-shocked Vietnam vet who was horrified when he caught his hero, Reverend Mike, in a drunken orgy. Killing the guy for being a hypocrite, Everbest decided it was his job to cleanse America of all the "fools" who corrupted it (criminals, corrupt politicians, hippies, etc.). He dressed up like Zorro and got himself a disintegrator gun (I guess it was on sale at Army Surplus), then became a lethal vigilante. To remind himself why he did what he did, he took Reverend Mike’s body, preserved it in formaldehyde and put it on display in a glass casket. Gross.
Foolkiller then got into a fight with that weird swamp creature known as the Man-Thing (and one day I’ll be able to say that name without chuckling). During the battle, Reverend Mike’s casket was shattered. A piece of glass flew up and slammed into Foolkiller’s chest, killing him instantly. Oh, the irony! That the reminder of his mission would prove his undoing! If only he had made sure to use safety glass instead, perhaps he wouldn’t be known as the villain who was killed by a casket. Idiot.
PSIMON
You’re a psychotic villain with telepathic powers. You brag to everyone about how powerful your brain is. And yet, it doesn’t occur to you that it might be wise (not only as a telepath but as a normal human being) to armor said brain rather than allowing it to remain on display in a flimsy plastic shell.
Man, can you imagine the look on Psimon’s face when the robotic villain Brainiac killed him by literally shooting his brain out of his plastic skull? Oh, wait. Of course, you can! We’ve got the picture right here!
This event happened during The Crisis On Infinite Earths. Due to the reality warps that happened during that story, Psimon later showed up again, alive and well. Yet he still, to this day, has not armored his brain, leaving him open to another vicious skull-attack by the Joker during Salvation Run. If Psimon doesn’t at least buy himself a bike helmet, there’s a chance that this embarrassing assassination will happen again one day!
KANGAROO I
So this whiney jerk Frank Oliver was living among kangaroos in the Australian outback, trying to learn how to mimic their leaping ability. After a few years, he did so. This is, of course, impossible given the construction of human muscle and bones, so it was later said that Oliver was a mutant who coincidentally happened to have superhuman leaping ability. Either way, Frank Oliver called himself the Kangaroo and became a criminal, only to have his butt handed to him by Spider-Man. He then went to evil scientist Dr. Jonas Harrow, who gave him a power boost. In return, Harrow wanted the Kangaroo to steal a radioactive isotope for him, forgetting that this is not the kind of mission you trust an idiot to perform.
The Kangaroo broke into a Hudson River lab when Spider-Man showed up. Realizing the Aussie intended to steal an active isotope, Spidey (being a scientist) tried to warn the Kangaroo that it would be really dumb to walk into a room flooded with radiation when God had been kind enough to invent lead-lined suits. Not listening, the Kangaroo opened the door and was immediately disintegrated into a pile of ashes. Moron.
CH’P
The Green Lantern Corps is an intergalactic police force with thousands of recruits from nearly as many worlds, each armed with a power ring that was limited only by willpower, imagination and a vulnerability to anything colored yellow. One of their members was the alien chipmunk Ch’p, a "monk without fear" who wore a bow-tie, was good at his job and was always one to make his colleagues laugh.
And then in Green Lantern: Mosaic #2, he wandered onto a highway and was run down by a yellow truck.
… Yeah. To make things worse, the cover of that same issue featured Ch’p caught in the headlights of said yellow truck and underneath him was the word "Roadkill!" in large green letters. Seriously, DC, what did Ch’p ever do to you?
VIPER I
Oh, Viper. Poor, pathetic, Viper.
Jordan Stryke was the first criminal called "Viper." While en route to prison one day, he was approached by the then-leader of the terrorist cult HYDRA, a green-haired, green-lipsticked woman called Madame Hydra.
Madame H explained that she’d decided "Viper" would be a better code-name for her but didn’t want people to get confused if there were two criminals using that alias. Stryke hurriedly suggested he change his own name, but the lady wasn’t listening and shot down the still-handcuffed super-villain. Poor guy.
Oh, but it doesn’t end there. Years later, the X-Men were in the Hellish realm of the demon lord Mephisto and found Jordan Stryke’s "soul shard", a crystal containing his spiritual essence. Minutes later, it was accidentally dropped and shattered, presumably sending Stryke’s soul into oblivion.
But we’re not done! Years after that, when Brian Michael Bendis started writing New Avengers, he had the woman terrorist Viper suddenly change her name BACK to Madame Hydra. So, to recap: Strike was killed because a girl wanted his name, had his soul obliterated, and then the girl decided she didn’t want the name anyway. It takes a lot of talent to continually be embarrassed even after you’ve died.
We hope you enjoyed this morbidly humorous list. Honorable shout-outs went to Captain America II (essentially killed by a bear hug), the Communist Red Skull, Alexei Luthor of Earth-2, Jason Todd (killed by a hotline gimmick), and the Immortal Man (seriously, that was your NAME, dude – what happened?).
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Alan Kistler could kick the butt of most of the people mentioned on this list. He has been recognized by mainstream media outlets such as the New York Daily News as a comic book historian, and can be seen in the "Special Features" sections of the Adventures of Aquaman and Justice League: New Frontier DVDs. His personal website can be found at: http://KistlerUniverse.com. One of these days he’d love to write for DC, Marvel or Doctor Who.
That Psimon shot is great stuff. And the Immortal Man crack. Too much fun.
That Psimon shot is one of my favorite panels of all time. It shows talent when you give me a panel that makes me simultaneously think "Man, Psimon's an idiot" and "Holy crap, Brainiac just shot a man's brain out of his skull, he is AWESOME!"God bless you, George Perez.
In regards to the Porcupine, are you sure the suit didn't just kill itself in self defense? The entire concept is horrible.
You know what, I think that's a completely valid theory.
Psimon is dead again, and again, it was a stupid brain related injury. He made the mistake of pissing off The Joker in Salvation Run #2, and the Joker simply picked up a rock and beat his stupid plastic covered brain in. This does again point out two constant facts:1)Never leave your brain covered by only plastic.2)Don't piss off the JokerWords to live by.
Those life lessons should really be framed. Hell, Mr. Freeze was nearly killed cuz he pissed off the Joker. And look at Alexander Luthor of Earth-3. Dude nearly destroyed the multiverse, but it's the Joker who burns his face and shoots him in the head.
Multi-Man in Joker's Asylum was a pretty good death as well. Joker kept killing him until he came back with a power useful enough to help them escape prison.
Since his power actually involves being dead for a couple of seconds, I couldn't really include that. Plus, Hitman did the same thing to Resurrection Man about a year or so before that story. :-)
I think I still have that issue of Hitman. Or did Resurrection Man have his own book? Maybe it was a crossover. Nevertheless, a great issue. I like how Garth Ennis is off-limits because he needs his own category.I picked up a reprint of The Punisher Kills The Marvel Universe a few weeks ago and it reaffirmed my belief that Ennis is as clever as he is twisted:)
Yes, Resurrection Man had his own book for a little over 40 issues i think. And that story did indeed happen in his own title. At one point, he resurrected and found that he had the power to create holographic butterflies of incredible beauty, at which point Hitman promptly shot him again.
That was a great story. I just picked up the whole run of Resurrection Man, which was 27 issues, plus a 1,000,000, by the way.
I liked the Resurrection Man story where he came back as a woman because, as a woman, he would have a higher threshold for pain. I don't remember the details of the story, but I liked that concept.
Yes, that indeed true. He was in a cell where trying to escape would cause serious physical pain but, as a woman, he was able to deal with it enough so that he could make it outside without passing out.
Was it only 27? Really? what a shame. that was such a great series.
I am in complete agreement. He just popped up again in Supergirl, and I was hoping someone would notice and remember how cool he was and use him more regularly. So far, no luck…
Yeah, I read that Supergirl story-arc. Not a bad way to bring him in. I think he should appear in Superman more often, especially considering how DC 1 Million showed that they became close friends in later years. Let's start that up, I think they'd make a great odd couple. Clark in his glasses and tie, Mitch in his dirt trench coat and bullet-ridden t-shirt. Can't you just picture them in a bar together?
I'm STILL pissed about C'hp. Sure, they can kill off and bring back Superman, The Flash (G'nort know how many Flashes have been resurrected), Green Arrow, and the Doom Patrol every day of the week, but would it hurt them to bring C'hp back? At least a one-shot — "FURRY CRISIS: WHEN MY C'HP'S COMES IN!"Oh, those cruel, heartless bastards.
Who put the drugs in Mike's coffee? Anyone?
Mike's a sucker for anyone in a uniform — a GL Corps uniform, that is. Even if it's a squirrel. ;-)
C'hp ROCKS!
C'hp does rock indeed! Maybe he'll rise again when the Black Lanterns show up. BRING BACK CH'P!
I think C'hp deserves a petition. If in the next few years, I see a C'hp action figure or statue from DC Direct, it will have been worth it. Who wouldn't want an alien chipmunk defending their desk?
This is a reprint of a comment I made on the ComicMix article, 'Blackest Night' stealing 'Final Crisis' thunder? by Alan Kistler, September 8, 2008. It's nice to see Mike and Linda Gold both keeping the green flame alive. And Tyson, there IS a petition; go sign it!!!!!DC raised Barry "The Flash" Allen from the dead. Hal "Green Lantern" Jordan is back. Arthur "Aquaman" Curry is back! OK, I didn't know Arthur Curry was gone. I didn't even know Aquaman WAS Arthur Curry. But I especially didn't know he was dead. Oh well. He's back now. Yeah! Now we will have another massive resurrection of DC Heroes on our hands in the forthcoming "The Blackest Night." Green Lanterns will stop being a Corpse and return to being a Corps. I just hope that all those Green Lanterns don't rise from their graves with an appetite for BRAINS! Still, this is the perfect opportunity for DC Comics to bring back Ch'p the Green Lantern Squirrel/Raccoon-thing from the dead. Personally, I wouldn't have even known about this DC Crisis if not for Mike Gold's illuminating article, "DC's Killing Fields," April 14, 2008. I wouldn't have realized that DC was busy bringing everybody back from the dead, except the beloved Green Lantern, Ch'p!Bring back Ch'p – The Green Lantern Corps Squirrel! That is the demand of a petition at gopetition.com: Recently, almost ALL of the dead Green Lantern Corps returned but Ch'p appears to have been forgotten.Thay can bring back Jason Todd, but they can't bring back a Squirrel?Petition: We, the undersigned, call on DC Comics & Geoff Johns to BRING BACK CH'P !!!!!See that? There are FIVE exclamation points in that petition statement! That's pretty loud. This is a groundswell led by Fans, Comics Giants and ComicMix Staff! Comics Legend Joe Staton's name is on the petition. Mike and Linda Gold have made their voices heard. ComicMix writer, Arthur Tebbel has demanded Ch'p's resurrection. In less than TWO years, the petition has gathered 91 names! [Three new names in the last three days!] Most of them aren't fake! That's at least 80 people shouting with the strength of five exclamation points. That's almost like the sound of 400 voices raised in anger and protest. How much longer can DC Comics and Geoff Johns and frankly the MAINSTREAM MEDIA ignore this outcry?I urge all of you who accidentally come across this comment to go read and sign the petition yourself. It's not too late. Ch'p will return if we make our voices heard. Oh, and I call on Robert Greenberger, Alan Kistler, Michael Davis and the other writers here at ComicMix to not just stand on the sidelines. That's right. I'm calling you OUT!!!!!! (See that? Six!) You need to cover this story. The scoop could be yours. The world needs to see this petition for what it is, a call for justice and the resolution of yet another disappointing DC Crisis. It's time to write about Ch'p's death (and the deaf ear DC has turned to the cries for his return) with the same fervor that other DC Crises have deserved. The media blitz that comes with "The Blackest Night" needs to be linked to this petition to bring back Ch'p. Ch'p's continuing death is one of the darkest hours and blackest stains in DC's long history of publishing. And Ch'p deserves the same hype that "The Blackest Night" is going to get.http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/bring-back-ch…
There's only one way to explain that yellow truck. Parallax wanted me out of the way.